Archives for May 1, 2016

'Bills General Manager Doug Whaley has said he likes to take a cornerback every year, and he lived up to that with the selection of Seymour.'

'“He called and said he wanted me,” Gronkowski said at a post-draft party at Amherst Pizza & Ale House. “He made it very clear he wanted me. A couple of teams had called earlier than that. I sat down with my agent and my family and decided to go to Buffalo.”'

'Quarterback Joe Licata has accepted an invitation from the Buffalo Bills to participate in a tryout at the team’s upcoming rookie minicamp, while left tackle John Kling will sign as an undrafted free agent with the Chicago Bears.'

' We can never envision the board falling the way it did because of the draft but with the way we kind of look ahead, we kind of knew that if we had the cap restrictions with the guys, our guys that we re-signed, not being able to go out and fill through the free agent market, but we knew this was going to be a draft heavy in some of the spots that we might be losing the guys. So it correlated pretty well. Is that always going to happen? No, but it happened this year.'

'“This guy has stuff to work on, but he doesn’t have any muscle memory already ingrained in him that’s bad,” said Whaley. “We’ve got a piece of clay and we can mold him and we have some qualified guys to mold him. This guy’s a proven winner, he’s driven, he’s undefeated. We got a nice guy to work with, with a high upside.”'

'After a 2015 season where the defense underachieved tremendously and was probably the main reason why the Bills missed the playoffs for a 16th year in a row, the Bills attacked the first three rounds by picking three players who should be able to step right in and, if not start, certainly contribute to the front seven in Ryan’s scheme.'

'Jones, 6-foot-5, 253 pounds, led the Buckeyes to the national championship after the 2014 season. He began the campaign as the No. 3 QB, but injuries pushed him into the starting job during the playoffs during which he beat Wisconsin in the Big 10 Championship Game, Alabama in the national semifinals and Oregon in the championship game … all in impressive fashion.'

'Cardale Jones has more upside than any quarterback left on the board. While he was benched during his final season at Ohio State, Jones has all of the physical ability to develop into a starting quarterback. During Ohio State's national championship run in 2014, Jones looked like a future star.'

'"He's going to come in and be a No. 3, be able to develop, be able to learn under some professionals that have been at their craft for a while with EJ (Manuel) and Tyrod (Taylor)," Whaley said. "We like his skill set. I mean, he's got the talent to possibly be a franchise guy."'

'Jones' inexperience makes him a mystery for NFL teams. At 6-feet-5-inches tall and 253 pounds, Jones has the prototypical build for the position. It doesn't hurt that he has arguably the strongest arm of any quarterback in the draft. He also failed to show the consistency NFL teams love to see from college prospects at the position.'

'This is the second draft in a row in which the Bills have drafted a running back in the fifth round after taking Karlos Williams from Florida State a year ago.'

'Buffalo hasn't hesitated to draft players with lingering medical issues in this draft. While the Williams pick is a bit of a luxury, and his health is uncertain, the Bills couldn't pass on the value. Williams may have been a third round pick if not for the injury.'

'A former high school quarterback, Listenbee is still polishing his game as a wide receiver. He has the speed to burn the defense deep. Listenbee was a standout track athlete for TCU as well. He ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash and has personal best of 10.09 in the 100 meter dash. Listenbee ran that 40 time with a double sports hernia, which he had surgery to repair in early March.'

'Listenbee could be an added boost to Buffalo's passing game, which is in need of a No. 3 wide receiver. And while he's sure about his speed, don't mistake him for a track star in football pads.'

'It's tough to argue with the Bills getting a wide receiver with this much upside so late in the draft. He ran a 4.39 in the 40-yard dash despite a double sports hernia. His personal best in the 100-meter dash is 10.09 seconds. The kid can flat out fly and isn't shy about it. He said he's the fastest player in the NFL and could be in the Olympics if he wanted to.'